


always the light falls (softly down on the hair of my beloved)

by poetroe



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, First Meetings, Fluff, Public Transportation, falling asleep on the bus never felt so good, janaya - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 09:19:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19742725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poetroe/pseuds/poetroe
Summary: a “idk you but you fell asleep on my shoulder on the bus and the only reason i’m letting you stay there is bc you look very comfy and i’m a good person - it’s totally not bc you’re also possibly the cutest and most precious human being i have ever seen hahah okay maybe a lil” janaya au





	always the light falls (softly down on the hair of my beloved)

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first time writing janaya and i enjoyed it so MUCH i p much wrote this in one sitting. i stole the title from a poem by kenneth patchen. hope y'all enjoy this and hope s3 drops soon......i need more of these two. thanks for reading !!

Janai is a summer child with summer skin, but she loves the winter when it rolls around once again. She likes seeing her breath visible, the tips of her fingers growing cold, likes how the snow mutes the colors and the sounds of the city like a blanket. Still, she basks in the light of the low sun falling on her face, through the tall windows of the bus—making her feel like that fire in the sky is mirrored within herself. It feels right; she was born in the longer days, after all.

It’s five in the afternoon and the comfortable warmth of the sun on her way down to the horizon, combined with the jerky movements of the city bus make Janai grow drowsy. A glance at her watch tells her she’s still a small hour away from her destination. A deep sigh leaves her lungs, before she closes her eyes and slumps against the window. The glass is cool, the sun is balmy and maybe it’s that contradictory combination that makes her feel so at ease. The bus rounds another corner, and Janai falls asleep.

***

Amaya squints against the sun, dropping so low now that it falls exactly in her eyes. Her breath forms into a translucent cloud as she scoffs at the light and turns her back to it. She doesn’t hear the scrunch of the snow as she moves her weight from one foot to the other at the bus stop, but she feels it even through the thick soles of her combat boots. The corner of her mouth turns skywards slightly as Amaya takes another tentative step forward, just to feel that weird crunch and the feeling of her foot sinking away, again. She loves winter.

Her eyes rise from the snow to the end of the street, where the city bus just rounds the corner. Amaya waits patiently as it drives through the dark brown slush on the road until it stops in front of her, and gets in.

It looks like she’s still somewhat ahead of the afternoon rush, so Amaya is able to take a free seat. The girl in the window seat next to her is slumped against the window, her eyes closed and her mouth slightly opened. Another glance or two tell Amaya she’s really asleep and Amaya observes her for a while, feeling freed by the knowledge the stranger won’t suddenly meet her gaze, or think she’s weird for staring, or leave.

She doesn’t mean to look for multiple stops—it just kind of happens. It doesn’t help that this girl is so pretty, Amaya thinks as she dutifully tears her gaze away and to the snow-covered streets outside. But for as much as she depends on them, her eyes are treacherous things. Amaya blinks and suddenly she’s looking at golden eyeshadow on dark skin again, complemented by the fading sunlight that reaches through between tall building just so that it falls on her face. Her high cheekbones create shadows in the light, but even there her skin seems to glow. Then the bus rounds another corner and this girl must really be far gone, because her head falls on Amaya’s shoulder and she doesn’t wake up.

Amaya has half a mind to wake her up, or to gently lift her head and position it back against the window, but she looks way more comfortable resting on her shoulder than against the glass could ever be. So she lets it be, because she’s a good person and she’ll grant this girl a nap (not at all because she’s is so pretty it makes Amaya blush).

The girl is surprisingly warm against her. Though the weight of another person resting on her shoulder is sure to make it grow stiff over the course of her journey, Amaya stays perfectly still and, after a minute, even dares to lean her head against the girl’s. Her dreadlocks tickle Amaya’s cheek a little, but they smell of a soothing coconut oil and soon enough, that sweet smell combined with the jolting movements of the bus and the constant humming of the engine make her eyes droop. Fuck it, Amaya thinks as she closes her eyes. It’s still about thirty minutes until her stop; she can nap for a while, too.

***

A particularly rough bump shakes Janai awake. Her first thought is that its too bad, because she was some badass warrior with a fiery sword in her dream. Her second thought follows immediately after, when she notices she’s not laying with her head against the window but rather on someone’s shoulder, and that they lay against her just as comfortably. Janai freezes, and considers just pulling away roughly, but that would be rude. Also, this person next to her seems to be asleep too, judging from the soft snores coming from her side. Wouldn’t it be incredibly rude to just wake them up?

There’s still fifteen minutes to her stop, so Janai decides to just ride it out, sitting like this. It’s actually kind of nice, sharing a bit of warmth and comfort with a stranger like this, especially now that the sun has definitively dropped down the horizon. Five more minutes pass like that, a soothing weight pressing against her side, soft breaths playing like a tranquil rhythm in her ear.

They driver over a pothole and the bus rattles and jostles everyone inside, and Janai knows it must’ve woken the person next to her up. Sure enough, the breaths deepen, and the weight against her disappears. Now she can finally turn her head without risking them to wake up, Janai looks to her side with a smile.

“Sleep well?” she asks with a grin. The girl that’s sitting next to her is tall, with short cropped brown hair, eyes to match and an impressive looking scar on the cheekbone below her left eye. She grins back and nods silently. “Sorry about falling asleep on you,” Janai continues. She’s suddenly overcome with the sort of embarrassment that burns beneath the skin of her cheeks, which makes no sense considering the girl is still looking at her kindly. “It’s been a long day, and the bus always make me sleepy.” Janai meets the girl’s eyes tentatively, waiting for her to answer, but the girl just gets out her phone and starts typing rapidly. They’re strangers, true, but Janai can’t help how her stomach drops at being ignored so suddenly.

Then the girl holds out her phone for her to read. I know what you mean, the screen reads. I’ve been up since 7 this morning. And Janai understands.

“Sorry, I didn’t know—uh, can you understand me okay?” she asks. The girl’s grin widens and she nods, before typing something on her phone again.

Most people don’t know how to react to meeting a deaf person, the girl types. You’re doing fine so far. I’m Amaya.

Janai feels her smile become less tense as she reads the message. “I’m Janai,” she says, making sure to enunciate clearly. “It’s nice to meet you.”

You too, Amaya types. So how did you sleep? Janai snorts at the question.

“Good,” she answers. “Pretty deep too, I guess. I didn’t even notice I was leaning on your shoulder until I woke up.”

Yeah. You slept through a baby crying for 4 stops. It was pretty impressive. Janai looks up from the screen to Amaya and sees her sporting a smug grin.

“Right,” she counters. “The bus had to speed over three potholes for you to wake up. I think you win this one.” Amaya pouts at her words, like she doesn’t agree in the slightest.

Let’s call it a tie, she types. Also, my stop is coming up. It was fun talking to you.

“The next one?” Janai asks. Amaya nods, and her grin is immediate. “That’s mine, too.”

***

They’re walking closely through the snow together, in the direction Amaya assumes Janai’s apartment is. The crackle beneath her feet has nothing on the crackle that runs through her arm every time their hands accidentally touch. Her heart beats a hard tempo in her chest and she can feel it so clearly that it wouldn’t come as a surprise if Janai were to turn to her right now and tell her she can hear it, too.

Around another corner, Janai stops walking. “This is me,” she says with a hesitant smile. It’s entirely endearing now that it’s complemented by a blush on her cheeks, one that Amaya is sure is put there by the cold, not by her. She returns her smile, a little sad that their chance meeting is about to come to an end. Then it’s like Janai can suddenly read her mind, because she says: “Could I get your number, maybe? I don’t think I’m done talking to you.” Amaya nods and can’t help but grin when Janai hands over her phone. She puts in her number under the name of ‘sleepy head Amaya’, before giving it back and getting out her own phone.

This was the most fun I’ve had on public transport in probably ever, she types, ignoring her heartbeat as it speeds up. In the lamplight, Janai’s eyes seem to shine. The light bounces off her cheekbones similarly like that of the sun, back in the bus, and it’s so distracting that Amaya almost forgets to lipread what Janai says next.

“Me too,” she says as she steps closer. “You’ve been really kind to a stranger.” For a second Amaya is glad Janai can’t sign, or she might’ve said something impulsive, like ‘only to you’, or ‘you don’t feel like a stranger to me’.

Guess it was your lucky day, she types instead, grinning as Janai reads it and playfully slaps at her shoulder. Guess it was mine, too, Amaya thinks after Janai has said goodbye, gave her a little wave and went inside the building. It’s started snowing again, but as she walks home Amaya feels warmer than she has in weeks.


End file.
